Veterans Day 2024: Thanking 360 (Veterans, Families, Service Men and Women)
Michael J. Piellusch MA, MS, DBA
Technical Writer/Editor @ U.S. Department of Homeland Security | Contract Technical Writer/Editor
Reflecting on the significance of Veterans Day in 2024, we have a proud national history within the United States; however, our future is always unknown and relies upon having a proud and strong military.? According to the Pew Research Center (2024), approximately 6 percent of American adults are veterans; in contrast, in 1980 about 20 percent of American adults were veterans.? In 1980 many of the living veterans were survivors of the Korean conflict and World War II. My dad (US. Navy) and two uncles (US Army and US Army Air Corps) were alive and well in 1980, but remembered fondly to this day and hopefully well beyond.? They even inspired my son Nicholas to join the Marine Corps (depicted in the photo above).
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (2024), and as most of us know, an Armistice between the Allied Nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 to end World War I, which was called the “Great War” (also known as the war to end all wars).? Ironically, World War II began only 20 years later and in 2024, we are well aware that wars continue to plague our planet and once a war begins, ending the war is increasingly difficult – we might wonder if the longer a war rages on the harder it is to bring the war to a graceful or humane conclusion as seen in Viet Nam and Afghanistan.? With the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Israel, we hope and pray that the wars will not escalate to World War III or end without an enduring resolution.
In a compelling pamphlet entitled Ready Workforce 2030, the United States Coast Guard states that only about 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are eligible to join the military (2024).? Having been privileged to work as a Coast Guard reserve recruiter for about four years (in the San Francisco and Oakland recruiting offices), we know that prospective recruits have to pass a written test, a drug test, and a physical exam, which includes height and? weight requirements.? Also, in most cases a potential recruit cannot have a police record.? Waivers are possible in some cases (for example, age waivers), but military services are endeavoring to hire the best people available and are not immediately ready to overlook historical requirements.
With recruiting challenges continuing to confront our six military services of the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, the Space Force, and the Coast Guard, we certainly appreciate our veterans more and more for choosing to join the military, meeting recruiting requirements, surviving training and operational service during wartime and peacetime, and achieving an honorable discharge or joyful retirement.? God bless our veterans, our current active and reserve service men and women, our military families, and our future military heroes.? On a personal note, I for one was shocked and dismayed to read and hear about criticism of a military retiree who served more than 20 years in uniform.? Not every veteran is a war hero, but every veteran is a patriot and a role model for future military members.? Choosing to wear a military uniform and serving honorably is a privilege and a patriotic performance worthy of meals and deals and warm accolades!? Semper Fidelis! Semper Paratus!? Anchors Aweigh!? Hooah!
References
Department of Veterans Affairs. (2024). History of Veterans Day. https://department.va.gov/veterans-day/history-of-veterans-day/
Pew Research Center. (2024). The changing face of America’s veteran population. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/08/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population/
United States Coast Guard. (2024).? Ready Workforce 2030. https://www.uscg.mil/RW30/
A link to another Veterans Day message: